Trenton Merricks (Oxford University Press: Jun 1, 2009), 214 pages.
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That there are no white ravens is true because there are no white ravens. And so there is a sense in which that truth "depends on the world." But this sort of dependence is trivial. After all, it does not imply that there is anything that is that truth's "truthmaker." Nor does it imply that something exists to which that truth corresponds. Nor does it imply that there are properties whose exemplification grounds that truth. Trenton Merricks explores whether and how truth depends substantively on the world or on things or on being. And he takes a careful look at philosophical debates concerning, among other things, modality, time, and dispositions. He looks at these debates because any account of truth's substantive dependence on being has implications for them. And these debates likewise have implications for how and whether truth depends on being. Along the way, Merricks makes a number of new points about each of these debates that are of independent interest, of interest apart from the question of truth's dependence on being. Truth and Ontology concludes that some truths do not depend on being in any substantive way at all. One result of this conclusion is that it is a mistake to oppose a philosophical theory merely because it violates truth's alleged substantive dependence on being. Another result is that the correspondence theory of truth is false and, more generally, that truth itself is not a relation of any sort between truth-bearers and that which "makes them true." ~ Book Description
Albert Schweitzer, W. Montgomery (Dover: Feb 11, 2005), 416 pages.
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This book is a turning point in the history of Jesus studies. Schweitzer demonstrates how previous research was really an (unwitting) attempt by liberal and rationalist theologians to proof-text a Jesus who would embarrass orthodox Protestantism and serve as a figurehead for liberal ("Fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of Man") Christianity. Schweitzer showed how each historical reconstruction of Jesus uncannily matched the beliefs and agenda of the scholar in question. But Schweitzer knew the Christ of orthodoxy was not the historical Jesus either. One could only discover the latter by being willing to find the unexpected, and Schweitzer thought he found a Jesus who was a prophet of the end of the world, who expected to judge the earth as the Son of Man, and who died tragically mistaken. Even so, he still serves as a beacon of spiritual force for the ages. As does Schweitzer's great book! ~ Robert M. Price
William A. Dembski and James M. Kushiner (Brazos Press : Feb 1, 2001)
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Citing inspiration from Quintilian's maxim, "Write not so that you can be understood but so that you cannot be misunderstood," Dembski and Kushiner have assembled a collection of judicious and eloquent essays representing the often-misunderstood intelligent design movement. Contributors include prominent Darwin-doubters Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe and Stephen Meyer, together with a stable of scientists and philosophers associated with the Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture, which Meyer directs. Part I of the collection focuses on introducing intelligent design concepts and addressing general philosophical objections; Part II (composing about two-thirds of the book) includes more technical issues and examples of how design comes into play in scientific subfields such as cosmology, developmental biology and information theory. This collection reflects a maturing movement that is aware of its critics, more focused in its goals and mindful of the need to communicate its message to a nonspecialist audience even as it appeals for a hearing in the scientific community. ~ Publishers Weekly
GoWalking on Water collects 12 brief meditations by Madeleine L'Engle on the nature of art and its relation to faith. L'Engle, the beloved author of A Wrinkle In Time among others, has written and spoken widely and wisely about the connection between religion and art. The gist of her understanding is as follows: "To try to talk about art and about Christianity is for me one and the same thing, and it means attempting to share the meaning of my life, what gives it, for me, its tragedy and its glory. It is what makes me respond to the death of an apple tree, the birth of a puppy, northern lights shaking the sky, by writing stories." She believes that "[b]asically there can be no categories such as 'religious' art and 'secular' art because all true art is incarnational, and therefore 'religious.'" And "incarnation," in L'Engle's view, means "God's revelation of himself through particularity." In this book there is some slippage between L'Engle's autobiographical and critical voices. As a result, she often claims Christian significance for works whose meaning is not intentionally Christian. She admits this freely: "[B]ecause I am a struggling Christian, it's inevitable that I superimpose my awareness of all that happened in the life of Jesus upon what I'm reading, upon Buber, upon Plato, upon the Book of Daniel. But I'm not sure that's a bad thing. To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know him as all in all." ~ Michael Joseph Gross
Daniel J. Treier, Mark Husbands, and Roger Lundin, eds. (IVP Academic: Jun 2007), 233 pages.
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The 2006 Wheaton Theology Conference explored a wide-ranging Christian
approach to divine beauty and the earthly arts. Written and illustrated
by artists and theologians, these essays illuminate for us the
Christian significance of the visual arts, music and literature, as
well as sounding forth the theological meaning and place of the arts in
a fallen world-fallen, yet redeemed by Christ. A veritable feast for
pastors, artists, theologians and students eager to consider the
profound but not necessarily obvious connection between Christianity
and the arts. Editors Mark Husbands, Roger Lundin and Daniel J. Treier present ten essays that explore a Christian approach to beauty and the arts. Theology has much to contribute in providing a place for the arts in the Christian life, and the arts have much to contribute to the quality of Christian life, worship and witness. The essays consider the visual arts, music and literature, as well as the theological meaning and place of the arts in a fallen world redeemed by Christ.
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In his own words: "Doug is Professor of Philosophy in the Talbot
Department of Philosophy at Biola University (La Mirada, CA). He
teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of epistemology
and the philosophy of religion. In addition, he has taught courses on
the new atheism, and on film and philosophy. Doug is the author or
editor of several books. He is co-editor with Jim Spiegel of the book Faith, Film, and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen.
He has lectured throughout the United States, and in Canada, England,
Scotland, Spain, France, Sweden, China, and Ukraine. Doug’s hobbies
include sea kayaking, reading outside his discipline, digital
photography, travel, and studying foreign languages. His favorite place
in the country is the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. He writes for
himself and others. He scavenges for useful tips for writing of all
kinds, for any of his hobbies, and for general life management. This blog is devoted to exploring all of these themes . . . and more. Doug has always believed that he fell into philosophy because he’s interested in so many seemingly unrelated things. As a philosopher, he lives with the illusion that they’re all connected."
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Its mission: "Some think church is irrelevant. Others, out on their own for the first
time, are attracted by all the world has to offer and put God on the
back burner. Yet many leave because they’ve come to doubt Christianity.
In fact, intellectual skepticism is a major reason cited by those who
have left. Our mission at CrossExamined.org is to
equip high school and college students to know
why Christianity is true,
how to defend it, and how to refute those who try to corrupt them."
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Although the progress of scholarship has raised new questions and provided additional lines of evidence, many older works on apologetics are of more than merely historical interest. Most of the objections raised against Christianity today are variations on objections that go back hundreds of years. These objections were thoroughly discussed by some of the finest minds of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and their responses are as cogent now as when they were first printed. Unfortunately, there has been little guidance to this literature for interested Christian readers, and as a result some masterpieces are almost unknown even among seminary graduates and students of apologetics. The Library of Historical Apologetics is dedicated to making accessible these historical resources and to advancing the ongoing dialog about Christianity’s historical claims.
Robert Audi (Princeton University Press: Jul 25, 2005), 256 pages.
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This book represents the most comprehensive account to date of an important but widely contested approach to ethics - intuitionism, the view that there is a plurality of moral principles, each of which we can know directly. Robert Audi casts intuitionism in a form that provides a major alternative to the more familiar ethical perspectives (utilitarian, Kantian, and Aristotelian). He introduces intuitionism in its historical context and clarifies — and improves and defends — W. D. Ross's influential formulation. Bringing Ross out from under the shadow of G. E. Moore, he puts a reconstructed version of Rossian intuitionism on the map as a full-scale, plausible contemporary theory. The Good in the Right is a self-contained original contribution, but readers interested in ethics or its history will find numerous connections with classical and contemporary literature. Written with clarity and concreteness, and with examples for every major point, it provides an ethical theory that is both intellectually cogent and plausible in application to moral problems.
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Stott's Basic Christianity is a very practical, easy-to-read introduction to the Christian life. Who is God? Who is Christ? What is sin? What does being a Christian mean? These are all very basic, fundamental questions that are answered in a no-nonsense, straightforward way. For those who have been Christians for some time, it is always good to review the basic fundamentals. Sometimes you see things possibly in a way that you never did before. Stott's explanation of the Ten Commandments and their application is by itself worth the price of the book. Basic Christianity is a small book, but loaded with helpful information. ~ A. Wolverton @ Amazon.com